Hawkeyes Rank Ninth in Pre-Season Poll

Oct. 24, 2007

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa Men’s gymnastics team is ranked ninth in the College Gymnastics Association pre-season poll. The Hawkeyes return nine letterwinners from last year’s squad.

“Ninth place is exactly where we finished at the 2007 NCAA Championships, so it seems like a reasonable place to start the new season,” said Head Coach Tom Dunn. “We will, of course, aim to finish higher than ninth place in 2008. We will rely heavily on our freshmen and sophomores, so I am thankful that the NCAA Championships is not until mid-April.”

Senior Jacob Becker and junior Geoff Reins return after being named All-Americans in 2007. Becker was honored on the pommel horse while Reins earned the honor on vault.

Dunn added four freshmen, including John Haines, Brock Hamilton, Michael Jiang and Ben Ketelsen to the 2008 roster.

Iowa will host the Black and Gold Intrasquad meet December 8 at 7 p.m. The Hawkeyes officially open their season January 12 at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, IL.

Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.